Naslov
Language as economic and symbolic capital – power relations in a multilingual city

Autori
Jernej, Mirna ; Burek, Ivana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Book of Abstracts - 42nd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea: Global Languages, Local Languages (Lisabon, Portugal, 09.-12.09.2009.) / Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Lisboa - Lisabon : Societas Linguistica Europaea, 2009, 43-43

Skup
42nd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea: Global Languages, Local Languages

Mjesto i datum
Lisabon, Portugal, 09.09.2009. - 12.09.2009

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
anthropology ; Pula ; Italian ; Albanian ; capital

Sažetak
The multicultural city of Pula (Croatia) represents a complex multilingual reality based on the use of various languages and idioms, which is also reflected in the official bilingualism (Croatian-Italian). On the example of Italian minority, considered the autochthonous, highly prestige-driven minority with specific historical background which influences their present status, and Albanian minority, considered a new minority – migrant community, the article examines the role of their respective languages as economic and symbolic capital. If languages are assigned different status, this may result in asymmetries of social power and, consequently, impact on the degree of economic participation and integration of a specific community. Power relations can also be observed in the language of public signage within the linguistic landscape, serving as an indicator of power and status of language groups in contact (regarding the eventual predominance of one language in a multilingual setting). The study will address the research questions regarding the different communicative practices at play in specific settings, whether and how status (old/new minority) and language competencies affect economic integration, and how linguistic landscape relates to the status of languages under investigation. The methodology used will be largely qualitative, using ethnographic approach: semi-structured interviews (with members of Italian and Albanian minority) in order to provide a detailed description and a holistic understanding based on the informant's view of reality, visual data analysis of photographs (regarding the linguistic landscape) and observation. We expect that the results will confirm our hypothesis that the Italian language, because of various historical influences, disposes of a higher status compared with the Albanian language. This, consequently, is supposed to provide better access to power and mobility within the society, and better integration of Italian language speakers, having in mind language as a form of symbolic capital.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Etnologija i antropologija

POVEZANOST RADA